A Girl Like Me

A lot of detours before the end

I liked the main couple. FL character was straightforward, strong, wasn’t a pushover and had common sense - rarely do we see FL characters like this. She was good in martial arts which was cool to see, it would have been nice if there were more scenes like that. ML character was good too, same, it would have been nice if we saw him do more martial arts - he was the nerdy but cool guy.

I would probably have enjoyed this more if it was shorter. The ML and FL relationship started early on in the drama and it started out good - they communicated and weren’t shy to show their feelings. But I guess because of the length of the drama there were some plots that felt repetitive, even unnecessary I think. I skipped full episodes and some scenes which I didn’t really care about but still was able to follow the story.

All in all it ended well, but as I’ve said, it did take a lot of detours to get there.

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Choose the correct person in life

Great family bond, hilarious
Rich but not snobby and care about people in genuine way 🤗
FL and ML matching pair
ML is very smart and FL very strong
Though ML look like very devious he is actually very crafty and intelligent thats why the Emperor trusted him to assist the Crown Prince
The 2nd Prince a mean idiot suited the evil concubine too....luckily the Princess Consort divorced him and married the FL brother !
And they live happily ever after....nice one...all the bad guys get their returns....
But hey the sidekicks all having babies....FL and ML no story here....darn !

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Fun and interesting

For transparency’s sake: I like Hou Ming Hao from when he was in When We Were Young. He and that FL broke my heart and I thank them for it.

So, Hou Ming Hao is why I started watching this drama. I stayed to the end for the storyline, FL and ML’s chemistry, and curiosity (as well as Ming Hao).

Story: it started off slow but I like the FL from the get-go. She’s shameless, bossy, and herself. I liked that a lot and it was refreshing. The plot has a lot of mini climax’s as the story becomes more complicated and we learn more about the different characters.
The drama between the ML and the FL was also interesting. Much more convincing drama then that of some other shows.
I also like how the romantic relationship developed, through ups and downs, take its time and not just magically working out. The overall plot is interesting and a bit mysterious.

Acting: I am biased about Hou Ming Hao, because of his face so I won’t really write about him. He’s good but I don’t really know if his acting was fantastic or anything great. The FL was pretty good. It just sememed like the two worked well together so neither of their acting was bad. Some of the supporting characters were fantastic, while other fell a bit short.

Rewatch: I would rewatch this. As I am writing this I am thing about the plot and trying to remember things. Because of this, The complicated plot and mysteries, I think there is a lot of rewatch value for the drama.

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The actually progressive series

I still go back to watch her strip her hot muscular cousin naked as he screams for help and then visit her aunt who wants to throw her a bachelorette party with her harem of men. The guys in her harem are so hot! I wish I was her. 🥵
I can't believe she didn't let them bathe her when they were literally begging to. 🥲
Of course she knew it would be a trick to make her husband jealous and have fun one last time but it was cute to watch the bride melt as those men were trying to impress her. I wish I was her. 🥲
Yuexie Dieying really did a brilliant job with this character in her book. Gabrielle Guan portrayed her perfectly.

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Must watch the best Chinese drama

First of all, the story is very interesting about Female lead. The story have drama, comedy and romance. Every chapter is succinct and easy to understand. The connect of the story is realistic and tangible. Every characters are not flat, they have improvements in the beginning until the ends that is very fantastic. The plot is not the same as novel so it made reader excited and follow the series.

The story have a moral and ethical within the story, Perfect !

All actors are best, bad person in the story have a angle that reflects realistic of people. I like all actors in this drama. The flight scene is not good enough some scene but this is first time of many actors so I think it is very well.

VisualFX and camera angle are good.
Music is very well, in many scene music can build the emotions. Especially when couple in the scene.

The most I like is many comedy scene make this story more interested during serious period. Also, the actor did it well in every scene.

I will watch it again for sure and recommend to others that MUST WATCH !!

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A must watch drama

I seldom watch chinese dramas as i felt they were too long with each drama being 30 - 40 episodes. This is my third chinese drama that i completed and it is definitely in my highly recommended dramas.

I fell in love with the show within 5 minutes of it. Love the female lead with her blunt talking and her loyalty to her friends and family. The male lead is a "mei nan" but he compliments well with the female lead. The other actors were all well played and I love Ban Hua's family. They interacted well together and created a warm and happy family.

The show got abit draggy in the middle and frankly speaking i think the plot at the last 2 episodes is redundant. But overall a lovely dovey show and one which i would rewatch again (which i did haha)

The theme songs are lovely and 风花 is my favourite.

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Our Male Lead is pretty Handsome

If you know Neo Hao you have to watch this drama.
if you don't know Neo Hao you will fall in love with him. ^^
The male lead is really yummy to see.. he's like pop up from a comic book...

Although Rongxia has a soft character but he can to be manly when needed. He is known as the smartest man.
And Banhua is a strong female character. the type of woman who doesn't need a man. although she not smart like rongxia but she could use her brain to know if something going wrong. so she 's not easily manipulated by someone.
All the women in this drama are stronger than a men. maybe the point of this drama is never mess up with women.

They're sweet, cute and funny couple. The romantic is good but sadly I can't feel the chemistry between them ..
The good thing is there is no complicated problems. Every problems will resolve quickly.
All the characters in this drama are very fun, especially the banhua's family.
This drama started to get interesting from episode 6 (in my opinion), so don't give up if you don't like the beginning of this drama
continue and you won't regret it ..

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Not one of those typical Wuxia

My 10 Year old daughter calls me "nuts" watching this show. I laugh out loud so often, she ended up watching with me to the end.

We began to rewatch again. Its not one of those Wuxia that Princess needs to pay utmost respect to Kings and Queens etc etc..... The FL argues and fights a lot which makes it interesting. There is not much show around that shows tom boyish attitude. ML is a honest, strategic, gentle soul.

If you need a good laugh, this movie is as good as Heroic Husband. Both brings a smile to you with no disappointment.

Too bad the sound track could be better.

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Probably the best strong female lead I've seen

I make some references to certain parts of the show, but I try to keep it vague so as to keep it from completely spoiling the show.

Ban Hua has a horrible reputation, but she doesn't care one bit. She is a skilled martial artist that has an independent, straightforward, honest personality; she does what she wants, and doesn't allow anyone to look down on her. Her temper can get the best of her, but even then she's smart about it and will take full responsibility for her actions. Even so, she helps people whenever she can. She's righteous and encouraging, even when she's mean about it. Her random acts of kindness causes so many men to fall in love with her. She's the hero that saves the beauty and then the beauty falls in love with the hero. I would say she's not book smart, but she's street smart. Sometimes she knows something's wrong, she's just too lazy to think about it. Ban Hua's dreams can also predict the future, so this helps her out a lot. She's from a ridiculously rich and influential family. Her family spends money like crazy and does what they want, so people think they are bad, but they are actually really nice. I love her family interactions. They are silly and not very smart, but they care for and love each other.

Rong Xia is a scholar that is unbiased and neutral, but he comes to Ban Hua's aide multiple times, mostly to get close to her for ulterior motives. Although he gets close to her, he doesn't hurt her or her family. What he wants most is to figure out the truth behind his family's death and get revenge. He's calculative, but also looks at the overall picture as to not cause a big disturbance unless needed. He also knows martial arts, but isn't as skilled as Ban Hua. He's a gentleman with many admirers, but he's lonely because he grew up without a family. I like the contrast with Ban Hua. Ban Hua is outgoing and rarely shy, Rong Xia is more reserved and sticks to etiquette. Rong Xia grew up without family, but Ban Hua did. I like their interactions, and their chemistry is good. Even when there's misunderstandings, they either figure it out together, or they are smart enough to understand why the other person did what they did. They make a perfect couple that is unstoppable.

I'd say there's 3 arcs:
eps 1-16: Rong Xia starts to investigate his family's death. Ban Hua and Rong Xia fall in love and break up.
eps 17-30: Ban Hua and Rong Xia clear the air and get back together. Rong Xia finds out the truth.
eps 31-40: Bad guy arc. Rong Xia and Ban Hua break up and make up...two more times? And the ending.
The plot is pretty straightforward, and it did start to drag out towards the second half, but I still couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I absolutely love how humorous this show is, I laughed out loud so many times! It's pretty light-hearted, really funny, romantic, serious and sad at certain times. I loved the acting and the music was perfect. I say this show has the best strong female lead because she often encourages other women, and many women follow her, thus this is definitely a female positive show. I highly recommend this show, and I will definitely be re-watching it over and over, especially all the funny parts.

Random characters/thoughts:
-Eldest Princess Dening (Ban Hua's Grandmother) is the smartest of the family. She protected her family after the death of her husband. The Ban's rely on her status and relationship with the Emperor. I love her, she cares for and loves her family and they love her so much, it shows. I just love how loving this family is.
-Ban Hua's mother is probably tied for second with Ban Hua for the next smartest in the family. I just love how both of them know that they can't trust the men to do important things in the family.
-Ban Hua's maids are also good at martial arts and are strong like her. This is definitely a woman empowering show.
-Xie Wan Yu is probably one of my favorite characters, outside the main people. She accepted her fate, but then realized she could change it upon seeing what the Ban family is really like. All she wants is to have a family like theirs, who just wants each other to be happy and support each other. She stays firm and keeps trying and trying to change her fate. She also loves cooking, and I totally want to eat whatever she makes. I also like her love story.
-Xie Qi Lin is Xie Wan Yu's 2nd brother. Oh man...I just feel bad for him. He's actually a really nice guy and kind of funny despite first impressions. I feel like he's a lot like his sister.
-Shi Jin is the second male lead that is a general and is also skilled in martial arts. He doesn't fight for power, unlike his family. I also feel bad for him; he's such a good guy and helps out when he can, but he gets his hopes up so many times.
-poor Shi Fei Xian. Her jealousy, rejection, and abandonment leads her to becoming someone that never wants to feel that way again. It's a nice contrast to how Ban Hua deals with all these problems compared to her. Ban Hua helps refugees to help them, Shi Fei Xian does it to get attention and compete with Ban Hua. When Shi Fei Xian gets jealous, she tries to stir up conflicts and get even, while Ban Hua just gets mad.
-Ban Huai (Ban Hua's dad) and the Xie family's dad are frenemies, and watching their rivalry and them bicker is comedic relief. I love these two characters.
-Prince A Ke Qi's appearance was one of the funniest misunderstandings. After that, he just so happened to appear (like don't you need to go back to your own country?) But he was a great supportive character that was always there for Ban Hua whenever she needed help.
-I like how the crowds comment/gossip, it's hilarious. They also lean towards the woman's side; unlike in other historical dramas, it's the woman's fault because they must've done something wrong.
-At the end of the day, the morale of the story is that the happiest people aren't those that don't vie for power, but just live to the fullest and love.

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Would I rewatch this? Yea I probably would.

Just a disclaimer, this review is based on my views through focusing from episode 1 to 20+ But the rest would be skimmed through. Regardless, I think more or less, this might be worth a read.

The female leads character at first kind annoyed me however I admired her alot. At first people would think she’s narcissistic and arrogant but she has a big soft heart for the people that she loves. Plus the fact that she’s skilled in kicking butt, sassy and strong these are definitely a deal breaker.

The fact that she became general and the first female prime minister like 👍🏼. Also the love of her family and the love she has for them is adorable and very heartwarming.

Family, romance, mystery, betrayal and love. These keywords stands out for me the most. The plot can be complicated for some, I kinda had to focused on it since it is 40 episodes the fact that the story might be a little difficult to understand is not ideal. Because for those with short attention span such as I would be very easy to lose interest and either move on or fast forward which is wat i did.

Regardless, the story from a glimpse of it and a little of what I learnt. Is well though through and a good story. But maybe making a little easier to understand and manageable being that it has a a lot of episodes.

The sacrifice and protection of the leads because of their love for each other is of course very sweet and make you aww and pull at their little heart strings.

But I am disappointed at the lack of passion and chemistry once passionate scenes are enacted. The kisses are like stamps instead of a kiss. The chemistry and passion isn’t quite there as I hoped that would go well with the love they portrayed in the story.

So I likely would rewatch it, more in detailed and focused. Not now, but later. Got to get over the Lim minor disappointment first.

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Keeping Up With the Bans

I started watching this after Back from the Brink because I’m a huge fan of Hou Ming Hao. I just read the synopsis here on Mydramalist and decided to go for it. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I certainly didn’t have huge expectations for it. It’s my first time watching the actress who played Ban Hua. I’ve been watching Cdramas since 2019, and I’ve never heard of her. Anyway, her acting was not bad. She was pretty good. As for Hou Ming Hao’s character, Rong Xia? Well, not so good. He was a little stiff and not consistent with his character. One moment he likes Hua, then later on he seems to be on the path of revenge against the Ban family, so he can’t like Hua. I’m not sure if it was the actor or the writer of the dramaI to blame, but I had to watch the whole thing because I was already invested in it. It felt like the roles were reversed. The FL was more like the ML. I love the Ban family. They are so cute and funny, especially the dad and her younger brother, Ban Heng. The villains did a great job for getting under my skin. In court, we have a few powerful families like the Bans, the Yans, the Shis, and the Xies. We see each family scheming against each other, and in the end we see who really were the allies with the Bans. It’s a shame with Shi Feixian, the second male lead’s younger sister who was in love with Rong Xia. She already had a second chance in life when she was saved from jumping off the cliff. Instead of doing good and being grateful for being alive, noooo, she had to choose evil. She wanted to be empress by using the second prince Luo for her benefit. I felt bad for her because her grandfather controlled her to be perfect her whole life. He instilled in her mind that she has to be the best. He wanted her to be empress of Daye. He said those words to her up until his last breath. No remorse or whatsoever. Her grandfather was to blame for everything they had to go through. Can you imagine your grandfather wanted you to lie for the sake of his position in court and you get to be exiled? The second male lead was a nice man. He knew right from wrong. He was the only one with the right mind among his family. Even his sister, who was the empress of Daye, didn’t stop from plotting to kill Rong Xia. Like what the hell? Glad the crown prince turned Emperor asked her if she loves him or she loves his throne? We all know it’s the latter based from the expression on her face. I’m glad the Xie family became allies with the Ban family at the end. When the grandmother, Princess Royal, was dying, she asked hua why was she wearing red? Was she marrying someone? She’s trying to be funny even in her last moments. We didn’t have a lot of deaths but the grandmother and her nephew, who was the Emperor of Daye. I’m glad the emperor wasn’t so bad and he just really wanted to protect the Ban family. As for the crown prince, I’m glad he stepped up in the end instead of retreating from his responsibilities. He was so silly for deciding to abdicate the throne to Rong Xia. Feixian and the former prince Luo were exiled as commoners out in the countryside somewhere. We could see at the end how he started having mental problems. He’s now living a life of regret. Even the Empress Dowager and the princess were taken away for punishment. What a shame. The princess was Hua’s best friend but she ended up believing a snake. There were a lot of cute and funny moments in this drama. The The kisses were a little meh. Not a fan of dead fish kisses. I don’t like it when they kiss, both their eyes are opened, like nah, that’s not romantic. But I’ll give it a pass. I ended up enjoying the whole drama. 40 episodes was a little long, in my opinion. They could have shortened it down to 30 episodes. There were times I honestly got bored and just wanted to finish the drama already. I love how her brother’s wife is ready to give birth, and Rong Xia’s guard’s wife, who was one of Ban Hua’s maids, was also pregnant. Surprise surprise. Twin bliss. But we don’t get to see little ones from our main couple. Not gonna lie, I was a little sad. Oh well, that’s reality. Not everyone can have kids right away. It’s a really nice drama and I’m just happy they get to have a lot of scenes together.

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